


#29 Dodge City Deja vu

by gpadow



Category: Gunsmoke, Matt/Kitty
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-20
Updated: 2011-09-20
Packaged: 2017-10-23 21:58:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/255450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gpadow/pseuds/gpadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>M&K go to Russell, Kansas<br/>Political corruption and Matt in an opium den..</p>
            </blockquote>





	#29 Dodge City Deja vu

**Author's Note:**

> This story respectfully features characters and canon from the television series, Gunsmoke, which aired in 1955. They do not belong to me.

#29 Dodge City Deja Vu

Mar. 23rd, 2011 at 12:59 PM

 

Author's note: The previous entry, Close to Tears, should be read first as it serves as an introduction to this story.

 

Kitty looked through the third story window of the thirty-room Russell House Hotel on Main and 9th Streets as the sun began to set over the W.C. Hobbs lumber yard, one of two in this shire town of close to eight hundred residents.

The redhead sipped a very fine whiskey and day-dreamed about Matt running a construction and lumber business where he could put his talent for design and carpentry to good use once he gave up the badge.  
She sighed at the thought.

Matt had given her the impression Russell was a dusty little town, but she found it surprisingly charming. Many of the buildings were two-story stone construction, and much of the boardwalks in the central area, or "downtown" were made of attractive flagging.

In the few days they had been in Russell, the couple had been well-received. Kitty was impressed by the number of stores and businesses that had sprung up: four general merchandising, five grocery, two drug stores, two hardware, four millinery and one furniture store. There were also carriage and wagon shops and on the outskirts of town, a few mills and factories. Kitty was anxious to show Matt her purchases from her discovery today of a book and stationery shop. It even served tea to customers. She was quite impressed.

Not all of the architecture was attractive. Far from it. Kitty enjoyed the view from the tallest building in Russell and chuckled out loud, "This place is a wonderful clash of class and crass."

While Matt was working, Kitty walked around Union Block and Opera Block. She was impressed by the two story stone structure that housed a billiard hall and livery on the ground level and an entertainment hall above, complete with stage, changing areas, and fitted up for scenery construction.

Also impressing Kitty were the recently installed elevators in many of the larger buildings. This included a few of the limestone residential properties in the south side of town, such as the Gernon House and the Heym-Oliver House.  
The largest was owned by a Mr. Copeland of Ackerman & Copeland, Russell's preeminent bankers. Matt had hinted at a possible invitation to dinner at the mansion.

The Marshal should be joining her soon. He had been kept busy at meetings with the County trustees and making himself familiar with the trouble spots in this town of contradictions.  
In the evenings they had enjoyed dinners and romantic walks along the Saline River. Matt promised to take her on a ride to the Smoky Hill River tomorrow.

I wonder why they need a US Marshal when they have constables from the police station at 8th and Fossil, Kitty thought.

She heard the door open, and saw within its frame Matt Dillon's tall form as he paused to remove his Stetson and offered her a broad smile.

###

"Kitty, that's the third dress you've tried on. It's just a dinner. Why are you so nervous?"

"It's a dinner party and it's in a mansion with the town's most prominent people.  
Are you sure they told you bring me, too? Maybe they just wanted to welcome you and not the saloon woman."

"Saloon owner.  
And yes, they seemed more interested in you than me. You're famous you know."

"What?"

"I said wear the green one."

Matt ducked just in time as a shoe sailed over his head.

###

"Which one is the new Marshal?" Kitty asked as she took a glass of wine from the offered tray. She wondered where these servers came from as she listened to their whispered conversation in a language she could not place.

"He just came in, Kitty. He's headed this way."

"He looks twelve."

Kitty wanted to add, and he looks just like someone I laid eyes on in Delmonico's on my first day in Dodge, but just smiled at the lanky young man who approached and said with a bashful smile, "You must be Miss Russell."

"I'm Mac Gibson," the handsome marshal said as he took her hand.  
With a firmer grip he shook Matt's hand and added, "Evening, Marshal."

"All settled in, Mac?" Matt asked.

Kitty looked up at the two lawmen and noticed Gibson was nearly as tall as Matt.

"Yes, sir. It's quite a nice little house. More than I expected and comfortably furnished."

"What did I tell you about the "sir" business. It's Matt, remember?"

"Did you say the War Department provided you with a furnished house?" Kitty asked in astonishment. "You're not thirty a month and found?"

"No, ma'am."

Kitty winced. "Just Kitty, please."

Before the conversation could continue, a man in uniform came up to the group holding a whiskey. Kitty looked at it with envy and then at Matt, who had been uncomfortably holding his glass of wine.

"Captain Dole, I'd like you to meet Kitty Russell. You already know Mac Gibson of course.  
Kitty, the Captain is with law enforcement here in Russell."

The police officer pushed his arm between the two men to shake Kitty's hand, which he continued to hold.

The redhead disliked him on sight.

"So, Kitty, what do you think of our little town?"

Matt tried not to react to the man's familiarity, but gave Kitty a quick glance that Mac Gibson noticed.

"It's not so little, Captain.  
I see you found something other than wine."

"Yes, it's a very fine Scotch.  
The men are invited to partake with cigars in the drawing room," he answered with a nod of his head to a half-opened pocket door.

The policeman continued, "Why don't we let these two tall lawmen join the town fathers while we get better acquainted."

"Excuse us," Kitty said as she took Matt's wine glass and placed it with her own on a passing tray.

The redhead took his arm, and those in their path parted as the couple made their way quickly to the adjoining room.

"Splendid woman isn't she, Gibson?" Dole remarked lasciviously.

###

Heads turned as the big man with the lovely lady on his arm entered the drawing room.

"Well, Matt, I see you've found us.  
Miss Russell, may I offer you a glass of wine?" Conrad Morgan asked as he attempted to turn her back into the other room.

Kitty looked at the older gentleman and smiled.  
"No thank you, Conrad. But Matt and I wouldn't turn down a neat Scotch whisky.  
And it's Kitty, remember?"

The businessmen and town trustees relaxed and laughed. "Please join us," several said at once.

Kitty took a seat in a masculine leather wing chair as Matt reached over to hand her the drink. She raised the crystal glass and smiled, "Cheers, gentlemen."

###

Conrad Morgan and Henry Peters elbowed each other as they vied for Kitty's attention, and reached for the captain's decanter to refill her glass.

The servers had been dismissed to help the other staff in the reception room.  
The pocket doors had been pulled closed, leaving the drawing room to fill with cigar smoke.  
Matt and Kitty didn't mind.  
The saloon owner was certainly comfortable being the lone woman in a smoke-filled room with drinking, boisterous companions.

"Tell me something, Conrad," the redhead smiled. "From where do the serving staff hail?  
I've tried to figure out their accents."

"Well, Kitty, they are known as Volga Germans, but are actually from Russia. They came from Wisconsin to the Great Plains and settled in the Smoky Hills region. Some live closer to town on the other side of the Kansas Pacific tracks.  
That's where the Marshal's jurisdiction starts."

At Kitty's questioning look, the man added, "But of course Matt would have told you all about that when we offered him the job last year."

This was not how Matt wanted Kitty to learn about his turning down the job of Marshal for Russell County and Territories.

He tried lamely to smile at her, but immediately saw the hurt in her eyes before she held her head down so as not to look at him.

###

They undressed without speaking.  
It had been an awkwardly silent carriage ride back to the hotel.

Matt watched Kitty at the vanity bench begin to let her hair down as she struggled with one of the pins.  
He stared at her long, beautiful neck and the adorable freckles that covered her soft, creamy shoulders.

"We should start to pack tomorrow and I'll check the stage schedules," Matt finally broke the silence.

She caught his look in the mirror over the hotel room's vanity. Without a word the redhead picked up her brush and held it out.

Matt straddled the bench and began to brush her hair. It was a relief to perform the familiar task he loved, and he felt as though he was brushing away the wedge that had formed between them.

After several minutes, Kitty opened her eyes and took the brush from Matt's hand, leaning against him as he wrapped his arms around her and dropped his head to her nuzzle her neck while tenderly caressing her breasts.

"I'm so sorry, Honey. I should have told you. Are we all right?"

"Yes. I don't want to talk about it right now. It's been a long day, Cowboy."

The big man was encouraged that she used the endearment and relieved that he didn't have to explain his actions.

Very loud knocking made them both jump as Matt instinctively looked for his gun.

"Marshal! It's Captain Dole. I need your help. Can you come right away?"

Matt and Kitty didn't recognize the man's voice, but there was clearly an urgency to it, so they quickly acted to find their clothes.

"OK, Dole. Just give me a few minutes. I'll meet you in the lobby."

"What do you think it could be, Matt?" Kitty asked in a worried voice.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good.  
You wait here, Kitty."

###

"Opium? Of course not! Where is he, Dole? He never came back last night."

"The last anyone saw of him he was heading for Reeperbahn House, a place well known as a, well.."

"You were with him, Dole. What are you talking about?"

"With him? That wasn't me, Kitty," the police captain softly said as he placed his hand on Kitty's shoulder.

In a sweeping motion of her arm, the redhead pushed his hand away and hissed, "Get out. And don't come back unless you have learned something about what happened to Matt Dillon. Do your job, Captain."

She closed the door after him and he heard the lock turn from the hallway. Dole smirked as he put on his hat to take his leave.

Kitty felt alone and uneasy, but committed to the dangerous task of venturing past the deadline. Her first undertaking would be to find the young marshal and convince him to guide her to the Reeperbahn.

###

 

Matt Dillon felt as though he were in a fog so heavy he could hardly raise his head.  
He slowly became aware that his shirt buttons were unfastened, and so were his pants.  
His gun belt was gone. And his boots.  
The hard surface of the narrow bunk made his back ache and a terrible smell permeated the room.

Suddenly a weight came over the drugged lawman as he tried to focus his eyes on the shadow that laid across his body.  
A woman. His hand felt the rough, dry skin of her bare back, but he could not speak or push her away.

"There you are my dear. Wakin' up are ya?"

Her hot breath was stale and putrid.

"Don't know who your Kitty is, but Hedda is gonna make you purr," the creature murmured as her hands crudely explored his body.

Hearing Kitty's name finally sunk in and made Matt bolt up, sending the woman to the floor.

"Hey!"

Matt tried to stand, but Hedda pulled his hand and bit down hard on his forearm. As the big man unsteadily kicked at her, two men entered the room. Matt saw one of them and took a stance to fight. On his blind side a billy-club cracked over his ear.

Instant darkness.

###

Kitty Russell walked toward the Kansas Pacific Railroad Station wearing a simple black skirt and a light blue blouse. She wore boots, no hat, and her hair was pulled back and tied with a dark blue ribbon.

The small cottage was neat. It had a low fence with a carefully painted sign on the gate: Mac Gibson, US Marshal.

The tall man had come out the front door to find Kitty walking toward him. He was not completely surprised.

"Take me there, Mac."

"Kitty, come in for a coffee and we'll talk."

"Take me to the Reeperbahn."

Worse than he thought.

"I can't. Matt agreed to go in only on the condition that you be left out of this business."

Gibson led Kitty into the cabin and pulled out a chair at the table in the center of the room.

"It'll just be a minute to reheat the coffee," he said as the curious redhead glanced at the notes that had been left on the table.

The bold printing style was quite similar to Matt's. Could it be a lawman's trait?  
Kitty thought back to all the detailed reports Matt would write out in triplicate.

She read on the upside down page the listed words  
Reeperbahn - rope walk,  
St. Pauli girl - whore,  
opium poppy - synthesized heroin..  
The young man placed two cups of steaming coffee on the table and retrieved the papers, shoving them into a cupboard.

Kitty watched him and said firmly, "If you don't take me to Reeperbahn, I'll find it myself."

Then she sighed deeply and added, "I don't know what to think, Mac. I'm so worried."

Kitty had her head down and seemed close to tears. The young man placed his hand over hers and said, "This never should have happened. Matt found out about Morgan, but I am the one who is supposed to go under cover."

"Morgan? Conrad Morgan?"

"The same. He and his partner Henry Peters run things in Russell even if some of the old families don't know it."

"What's this have to do with Matt?"

"They offered him the job of Marshal and planned to put their own man, Dole, in his place in Dodge. That way they could expand their business to Ford County along the Atchison-Denver rail route."

"What kind of business?"

"Well, Kitty, Morgan and Peters are very well connected. All the way to Washington.

One of their businesses back East manufactures morphine, laudanum and codeine for hospitals and medical suppliers.  
But the real money is in the illegal narcotics.

Kitty, it's believed these people are being protected by someone with a lot of power politically."

Kitty considered this information.

"Rat Hole Alley in Dodge is on the other side of the deadline, and like all red light districts, there are drugs. Is that what Morgan and Peters are after?"

"Yes, but it's much bigger than that, Kitty. That would be their starting place. With Matt out of the way they could start their trafficking operations with no interference from the law."

Gibson wished he had not put it that way.  
He looked at Kitty as she turned her face up to him and asked, "Out of the way?"

"Well, I meant not in the way of their plans in Dodge City."

"You know, Kitty, when Matt turned down the offer of a cushy job with lots of benefits, they knew he would be incorruptible.  
I, on the other hand.."

"So you were sent here, Mac?"

"Yes. I would be on the inside to try to learn as much as I could."

"Do you think they'll kill Matt?" Kitty asked in a quavering voice.

"I think they want to know how much he learned and if he passed anything along, Kitty.

There's a good chance he is still alive, and if they can discredit him, it would be a good way to make him look like a lawman gone bad."

"So Matt would be out of the way with no questions asked..  
Still, it would be best if he were dead, wouldn't it?"

"I don't know, Kitty," Gibson lied.

Kitty stood up and walked to the window. She looked sadly out at the railroad tracks.

"I have to know. I must find him."

###

Matt Dillon could be a patient man. He kept still, feigning unconsciousness.  
From the sound of voices and footsteps, there were two men and one woman, although from time to time another person would come into the room. Captain Dole. The Marshal recognized his voice and cigar.  
He was pretty sure the woman was the one called Hedda.  
The Marshal was aware that his clothes were back on, but his boots were not.  
His feet were cold.

"Gum arrived. Brown sugar is almost ready to be packed for the return trip. Make sure Dillon is in the same boxcar. Has he come to yet?"

"Nah. Still out cold."

"That's a real shame," the woman said as she reached down to put her hand through Matt's damp hair.

"Is his wife back in Dodge?"

"Wife? What wife?"

"Last night he called out to someone named Kitty."

"Oh, the redhead," Dole laughed. "She's his woman.

I'm looking forward to comforting her when she learns the Marshal has disappeared. Permanently."

Dole roughly grabbed the woman's arm, pulled her to her feet and ordered, "You keep an eye on him, Hedda. Come after us as soon as he stirs, ya hear me?"

"Let's go get a crate ready. We'll need a big one for him."

The three men laughed as they left the room.

Matt could hear other voices, but they seemed muffled and far away, perhaps behind closed doors.

Hedda came over to sit by him. She smelled like stale sex on a dirty mattress.

"Why is there such a gentleness about you? A kindness.." she sighed.

Matt took a chance and turned his face up to her with a slight smile.

"I'm sorry they are so rough on you, Hedda. It is Hedda, isn't it?"

He held his breath as she seemed to take hours, not seconds, to respond. Hedda took on a panicked expression as she looked toward the door.  
Matt reached out to take her hand in his. He was careful not to seem too aggressive.

"My name is Matt. They mean to kill me, Hedda."

"An' me if I help you, big man."

"Matt. I won't let that happen. I can protect you."

Hedda brought her sorrowful face close to his and whispered, "You're lying, but I want to believe you."

That was the encouragement Matt had been looking for.  
He quickly sat up and could hear his stiff, aching body make cracking noises as he tried to stand.

Hedda put her arms around the big man's waist and he placed his arm over her shoulder.

"Thank you," Matt said sincerely, as he gave her shoulder a little squeeze.  
He felt guilty using her, but needed to keep the woman on his side if he was going to get the drop on these men.

###

Kitty Russell and Mac Gibson stood on the street looking at the narrow rope-walk bridge that seemed to cover a muddy mote. It led directly to the front door of Reeperbahn House.

"Now what?" Mac Gibson thought out loud.

"Just be friendly and professional, Marshal Gibson. You're here because I asked you to help me find Matt, and there was a report he was seen coming here."

"You'll be fine, Mac," Kitty added.

The young lawman held her hand as they moved single-file across the rope bridge and up one step to stand before a massive door with a window covered by a metal hatch.

Gibson pounded on the door and the covering over the window was opened by a woman with a cigarette hanging from her mouth.

"This is US Marshal Mac Gibson. Open the door."

"Sure sonny, and I'm Queen Victoria."

Kitty stepped into the woman's view and declared, "Okay your majesty, just open up. We have some business here."

The hinged metal door closed over the window and the couple heard the sound of locks turning.

When the door swung open they found themselves looking down on a dwarf standing next to the woman, who flicked her cigarette past them onto the front stoop.

"I'm Alexander. What's your business here?"

"Hello, Alexander, my name is Kitty Russell. I need your help to find someone."

"Russell? Like the shire town, huh?"

Kitty thought it odd that the little person spoke of Russell as if it were a town in another part of Kansas.  
They must never cross the deadline. For a moment she wondered if they ever left the building.

"Yes, that's right.  
We're looking for Matt Dillon. He's a very tall man with dark hair and blue eyes."

"Don't know about the eyes, but the Captain brought in a tall drunk he said was a friend of the bosses. Wanted to have Hedda for the whole night and paid for a place in the den."

"Take us there," Kitty ordered.

Mac Gibson started to tell the stubborn redhead to stay there while he searched for Matt, but he immediately realized that was a futile idea.

###

Matt Dillon no longer felt weak. His adrenaline was pumping and he felt in control.  
Hedda knew what to do and seemed to hold her usually stooped shoulders soldier-straight.

The lawman stood behind the closed door and listened for footsteps. He looked at Hedda and held up two fingers.

The door opened and the two men came in struggling with a large crate.

"Did you boys bring me some whiskey?" Hedda asked seductively.

The men laughed, and one reached over to fondle her breast. Neither looked in the room for the unconscious man.

Hedda backed up and the first man followed, his gold teeth giving him a menacing, sinister grin.

Matt suddenly brought his clasped fists down on the back of the man who was leaning over the crate. When the other man turned, Matt's fist pounded his face and he fell to the floor.  
The man hanging on the side of the crate tried in vain to land a punch, but Matt's forearm took the blow and he answered with a left hook and a right cross that knocked the man into the crate.  
The lawman grabbed the groggy man who attempted to stand, and hit him so hard the blood from his now broken nose sprayed across the room onto the dingy wall.

An impressed Hedda came over to help Matt take the men's guns and stuff them into the crate.

"Forget what I said about gentle, Matt Dillon," she laughed.

Matt put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Hedda, you were great. I'm mighty proud of you."

"What now? You recon we can just walk out of here sweet as you please?"

"You can stay here if you think it's safer for you. All you'd have to do is lay down and pretend to be knocked out.  
Or you can take a chance and come with me."

"I'll be sticking with you, handsome."

###

"Kitty, they may have already taken Matt, but we can continue to look, of course. I hate for you to go through this."

"We're here and not leaving until we find him, Mac."

Kitty reached out to touch the boots Mac Gibson was carrying.

The lawman asked, "Are you sure these belong to Matt? There have probably been a lot of men through here."

"They're his."

As she was about to follow Gibson through a tunnel that connected to another part of the basement, Kitty pulled on his sleeve. "Shhhh!"

"What is it?" Mac whispered.

"That voice," Kitty replied.

The two pressed their faces against a wooden door.

"Yeah, the boys should be ready with the crate soon.  
Getting Dillon out of here and into the boxcar won't be easy.  
I had to promise them more money to do the job.  
Oh, and Hedda."

Laughter

"All right, Dole. I'll go back and let Morgan know everything is under control here. Are you sure there was no word from that kid lawman? We don't want any complications."

"Haven't seen or heard from him, but if he shows up here he won't find anything."

"What about Kitty Russell? Did you go see her, Dole?"

"Yes. She's waiting at the hotel for her Marshal. I'll take care of getting her back to Dodge as soon as my papers come from the Senator. She'll come in handy when people ask questions about my taking over for Dillon."

"Well, I'll get back, then. You best be checking on those two. And Dole, make sure Hedda is taken care of, too. She's seen too much."

"Nothing to worry about, Peters. No one will miss an opium whore."

Kitty and Gibson moved swiftly into the shadows when they heard a door on the other side of the room open.  
Footsteps coming closer.  
Door latch.  
A man stepped into the tunnel and struck a match to light a cigar, giving the two people pressed against the wall in the dark a clear look at Captain Dole of the Russell police force.

Kitty Russell and Mac Gibson gingerly walked through the damp, fetid space following the red light from the tip of Dole's cigar.

Dole cast a shadow in the back-light of the open door. He looked around the room which was empty except for a large crate.

"Where the Hell are they?" he groused.  
"Soltonevsky! Orlov! Get in here now!"

"Hedda?"

"You three can have a party after the job is done."

Dole threw down his cigar, which made a hissing sound on the wet floor. He marched into a dimly lighted tunnel to his left grumbling, "When I get my hands on those three.."

Mac waited until he was out of sound and then dropped the boots and raced into the room with Kitty close behind.

Desperately they pried open the crate to find two bloodied bodies stuffed inside.

The two looked at each other in shock.  
They shared a feeling of relief that Matt was not in the crate, but confusion over what might have happened.

"Kitty, Matt must have done this to escape," Mac said encouragingly.

He looked up when the redhead didn't respond to find her eyes fixed on something.  
The lawman turned around and saw blood splattered on the wall.

"Oh, Matt," Kitty managed to choke out.

"We'll find him, Kitty. He's alive and we'll find him."

Without another word, Kitty pushed past her companion and ran after Dole.  
An astounded Mac Gibson took off after her.

###

Matt's sox were filthy and his feet were wet and cold. His shirt was unevenly buttoned and hung over his pants like a rag.

The rugged man squinted into the tunnel and strained to hear the footsteps approaching.  
He had a suspicion that Dole had found the crate and was closing in on them.  
Was he alone?

"Captain!"

Hedda's shrill voice broke through the thick air.

"He took me," she warbled.  
"He jumped 'em and then made me show him the way to the carriage house trap door.  
I ran from him and come to get you."

"Dillon will never see the light of day!" Dole shouted as he ran past the woman and straight towards Matt.

"Hold it, Dole!"

Dole saw the barrel of the gun and turned to Hedda. "You bitch!"

"Drop the gun, Dole. It's over."

"You'll never get out of here, Dillon."

Dole heard a sound behind him of the pistol being cocked.

"Yes he will. Drop the gun, Captain," said US Marshal Mac Gibson in a calm voice.

Both marshals took a few steps closer to the dirty policeman.  
He looked from one to the other and then dropped his weapon.  
Mac cuffed the man's hands behind him and picked up his gun.

 

Like a vision, Kitty came out of the shadows and slowly walked into Matt's arms.

As Gibson led his prisoner away, they held tightly to each other without speaking.

Hedda watched the lovers and sighed, "You finally have her back."

She turned away and walked aimlessly into the darkness.

 

Matt wanted to tell Kitty that she should never have come to this dangerous place, but all he could say was, "Oh, Kit.."

Kitty held tight to Matt's waist while pressing her face into his chest.

The redhead finally turned her tear-filled eyes up to him and declared, "You smell terrible."

###

Kitty had an amused expression as she sat next to Matt on the hard stage coach seat and watched as he moved his feet in circles.

"You'll break them in, Cowboy."

"I can't wait to get these off. We should be home in a couple hours and I can change into another pair."

"I'm sure Mac will be glad to have them back.

Do you feel okay leaving him to deal with everything? Maybe he can use your help."

"He didn't ask me, Kitty.  
He needs to be in charge, and I understand that.  
It's about wearing the badge."

"Where have I heard that before?"

 

The End


End file.
